Just In : 4 Persons Including A Lady Jailed For Mobile Banking Fraud

For SIM Swap fraud, an Accra High Court presided by Justice Serwah Asare-Botwe has sentenced four (4) individuals to twelve (12) months in prison each.

Each of the convicts must pay an additional fine of 2,000 penalty units, equivalent to GHC24,000, or serve an additional twenty-four (24) months of hard labor.

Linda Abakah and Solomon Ofosu were present in court, while Derrick Obeng alias Chilling and Ezekiel Otuo, who are both at large, were tried in absentia.

According to the facts of the case as presented by the Prosecutor, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) arrested the syndicate based in Assin Fosu in April 2022 after receiving information from Fidelity Bank Ltd, Ghana, indicating the existence of multiple other syndicates operating SIM swap and mobile banking application fraud schemes.

On 19 July 2022, EOCO received additional information from Fidelity Bank, Ghana, indicating that additional syndicates in Assin Fosu are engaged in Fidelity Mobile Application Fraud.

Fidelity Mobile Application Fraud is a form of cybercrime that involves the theft of funds from the bank accounts of Fidelity Bank customers.

Fidelity Mobile Application Fraud is an online scheme in which fraudsters use social engineering to trick Fidelity Bank customers into divulging their phone numbers, passwords, PIN codes, and One-Time Passwords (OTPl). After gaining access to this information, these fraudsters fraudulently transfer the residual balances from the accounts at Fidelity Agency Points to their own bank accounts, mobile phones, and electronic cash.

This is typically accomplished with the assistance of bank representatives. The Bank also disclosed that 220 consumers were sent fraudulent text messages purporting to be from the Bank. 86 of these 220 consumers were affected, resulting in a total loss of GHC 1,136,224.51.

In a letter dated 11 April 2022, Fidelity Bank reported that eleven (11) of its customers had fallen victim to SIM exchange fraud and lost a total of GHC 258,472.22. The intelligence revealed that the fraudsters swapped the customers' mobile numbers without their knowledge in order to gain access to their Mobile Banking application and take their funds.

The mobile numbers of the affected customers were on the MTN Ghana network, so the EOCO coordinated with MTN to identify the employees who switched the numbers.

On August 25, 2022, with the assistance of Fidelity Bank officials, the Office effectively arrested the first and fourth accused members of one of the Assin Fosu-based syndicates.

Subsequently, investigations revealed that the second accused individual was already in EOCO detention in connection with an earlier arrest involving another syndicate, whereas the third accused has been on the run since investigations began. The third suspect identified operates a Fidelity Bank Agency in Assin Fosu and uses his position to acquire sensitive customer information and use it for fraudulent activity.